Replaceable ceiling structure for telephone booths



May 1, 1962 P. H. SHERRON REPLACEABLE CEILING STRUCTURE FOR TELEPHONEBOOTHS Filed Nov. 20, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. PATCH/,4! H J /RmvBY i fl TOKA/fl J May 1, 1962 P. H.'SHERRON REPLACEABLE CEILINGSTRUCTURE FOR TELEPHONE BOOTHS Filed NOV. 20, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. Ewe/m4 /7. f/fieo/v BY 4 9%? ATTUE/VEKS' REPLACEABLE CEILINGSTRUCTURE FOR TELEPHONE BOOTHS Filed Nov. 20, 1959 May 1, 1962 P. H.SHERRON 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Pa ka W41 h SM-20m United StatesPatent Filed Nov. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 854,283

5 Claims. (Cl. 62-259) This invention relates to telephone booths andmore particularly to a telephone booth having a removeable andreplaceable ceiling structure within which may contain boothventilating, lighting, air conditioning or other apparatus and equipmenteither alone or in combination. conventionally, telephone booths havefour walls, a foldable front door assembly and a ceiling forming a boothenclosure. In the space above the ceiling there is normally providedbooth illuminating means, booth ventilating means and booth air coolingapparatus or air conditioning equipment, together with their respectivecontrol equipment. In order to allow for service and maintenance of thisequipment and apparatus, access has been provided to the interior of thespace above the ceiling or ceiling chamber, either by means of aremoveable panel positioned on top of the telephone booth assembly, orby means of a removeable panel on the underside of the ceiling chamberwithin the telephone booth enclosure. These conventional means of accessto the ceiling chamber have been generally satisfactory with onlyrelatively simple booth illumination and ventilation means beingpositioned or located within the ceiling chamber to be serviced.However, these access means have not proved satisfactory where morecomplex equipment or apparatus is disposed in the ceiling chamber, suchas air cooling or air conditioning equipment.

In order to maintain and service a relatively complex apparatus, such asan air conditioner or the more complex booth ventilating means,positioned in the ceiling chamber, the complete apparatus must begenerally available for inspection and servicing. Normally, each airconditioning unit is serviced periodically to brush and clean thecondenser coil, brush and clean the evaporator coil, clean the drain panand condensate tube and brush, clean and oil the fan and blower motors.If the air conditioning equipment is inconveniently or awkwardlypositioned in the ceiling chamber, so that the equipment is dit'rlcultto service, it adds appreciably to the time required for maintenance,service and repair of the equipment or apparatu located therein, as wellas the quality and thoroughness of the work performed. This is of greatimportance due to the high labor cost of the skilled maintenance andrepair men. Further, the longer the time spent for servicing orrepairing the accessory equipment, the longer the down time of thetelephone booth and the greater the loss of income therefrom as well asthe inconvenienceto prospective users with the ill will this possiblyengenders.

Also, due to the extremely large number of telephone booths being usedthroughout the country, or in fact within any large metropolitan area,great efforts are taken by both the telephone booth manufacturersand thetelephone companies using such booths, to keep the booths uniform insize and shape so as to make equipment and parts generallyinterchangeable. Heretofo re there has been no generally satisfactoryway of incorporating more complex booth air circulating and illuminatingequipment in an existing telephone booth. Heretofore, such replacementnormally required extensive changes in the ceiling structure which oftencost more in labor costs than the cost of a new booth having the desiredequipment already installed.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide atelephone booth having booth air circulating apparatus positioned withinthe ceiling chamber of the telephone booth adapted to be pivoteddownwardly into to telephone booth for providing complete availabilityto inspection and repair of the entire apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a removableceiling structure for a telephone booth which may be usedinterchangeably in any telephone booth of a similar class which providesfor easy convertibility of existing telephone booths into booths fullycooled or air conditioned booths either temporarily or permanently.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide atelephone booth having a removable ceiling structure on which there maybe mounted various electrical and mechanical apparatus.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide atelephone booth having a ceiling structure that is easy to install andremove for providing easy and convenient access to the apparatuspositioned in the ceiling chamber.

- Another object is to provide a removable ceiling structure fortelephone booths which incorporates complex booth air cooling apparatusthereon, and which allows the use of unskilled labor to periodicallyservice the apparatus and upon malfunctioning of the apparatus allowsquick replacement of the apparatus with a new unit for returning themalfunctioning unit to central repair shop.

A still further object is to provide a telephone booth having a ceilingstructure that accomplishes all of the above and yet is simple tofabricate and assemble, easily adapted to modify or suit varying needs,and reliable in use.

Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent when thefollowing description is considered in connection with the annexeddrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of a conventional telephonebooth incorporating the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the ceiling structure of the telephonebooth shown in FIGURE 1, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, in section of the upper portion of thebooth and the ceiling structure taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a frame structure used with thepresent invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the upperportion of the telephone booth taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

- It is well known that the temperature within a telephone booth israised by the body heat of the occupant, and the air therein often timesbecomes stale, especially if the occupant is smoking. If the telephonecall is of long duration, the temperature and relative humidity of theair within the booth is often times raised to such a high level as tobecome uncomfortable to the occupant. The occupant often opens the doorto relieve this condition,

which is undesirable, due to noise and the normal desire to maintain theconversation in confidence, so that the occupant is subjected to theuncomfortable temperature and humidity and stale air during most of thetime the upper portion of the telephone booth.

Referring to the drawings, numeral designates an assembled telephonebooth structure providing a booth enclosure and having corner-posts 12mounted on a base-- structure, notshown; Between front cornerp'osts-12is a door assembly 14, shown in its open position.Betweensideand rear-corner posts 12 are mounted side panels 16 andbetween rear corner; posts -12 is a rear panel 17'. Within theboothisshown a conventional telephone13 mounted above a-suitable tray15. This construction is well known inthetelephone art. j -As viewed inFIGURE 1-,-extending between left front and leftrear corner posts 12 andpositioned at the'top of booth side 16 is a cross member 18. Extendingbetween left rear and right rear corner posts 12- and positioned at thetop of rear side 17 is a cross member 20, and extending between theright rear and right front corner posts 12 and positioned at the top ofside member 16 is a cross member 22. Similarly-, extending between frontposts 12 and positioned at the top is a cross member 24. Suspended abovethe booth enclosure is a ceiling structure indicated generally at 19.

i As seen in FIGURE 4, a frame assembly or positioning assemblyindicated generally at 28 is adapted to be associated with theupperportion of phone booth 10. Frame assembly 28 has-a pair of'substantiallyvertically disposed side members 32 and 34 and a rear member 36 whichfixedly connect the rear ends of side members 32 and 34. Side members 32and 34 and rear member 36 each-has an outwardly extending transverseflange or arm from its upper edge, indicated as 32a, 34a and 36a,respectively. Rear member 36 and side members 32 and 34 are of suchlength that frame assembly 28 is receivable within the upper-=portion ofphone booth 10, so that flange 32a and 36a are mounted on cross members18, 22 and 20 respectively as shown best in FIGURE 3. Extending betweenthe inner surfaces of arms 32-and 34'and-fixedly mounted thereto is across arm 40; Advantageously cross arm 40 lies a predetermined distancefrom rear member 36,"so that cross arm 40 does not interfere with slot95 for guiding door mechanism 14, as shown best in FIGURE 2. Cross arm40; has its lower surface disposed substantially flush with the loweredges of side-members32 and 34. Cross arm 40-has a plurality ofspaced-apart threaded openings indicated generally at 42; Astrengthening strut 44 is mounted tothe inner surfaces of side members'32 and'34; and advantageously is vertically aligned with cross arm 40.Abutting the lower inner surface of side member 32 andextendingforwardly from rear member 36 is'an elongated bracket or plate-46 havingan upwardly turned forward end 48. Bracket 46 is fixedly secured to sidemember 32 and rear member 36' in any convenient manner. In a similarmanner a bracket 51 is juxtaposed with the lower inner surface of sidemember 34 and extends forwardly from rear member 36. Plate or bracket 51also has an upwardly turned forward end 53. Frame assembly 28 of ceilingstructure 19 is adapted tobe removably supported-.onphone booth 10.Thus, upon-ceiling structure 19 being positioned completely in place ontop of telephone booth'lll. side members 32 and 34 of frame assembly 28lie substantially parallel to the inner surfaces-of booth side members18 and 22 respectively and brackets 46 and 51-aresubstantiallyhorizontally-disposed and extend forwardly from the rearedges of side members 32 and 34respejctively.- 1 fr 2 Ceiling'strncture19 includes a replaceable, downwardly displaceable inner sectionindicated'generally at 50, shown best'in FIGURE 3. Section 50 has abasemember or frame assembly 52 whichv advantageously hasupwardlyextendingwalls for forming a casingthereabout. Extending fromopposite-sides of frame assembly 52'adjacent the rear edges or-in rearcorners are a pair-of outwardly extending pins, or shafts 56 and 58respectively. As shown best in FIGURES 2" and 3,: innersection 50ris ofa width sufficient to be received withinframe assemblyr28,bounded bytransverse member 40 and rear member 36 and side base-member' 52 beinghorizontally positioned or suspended in place above-the booth enclosure,lip 62 of bracket 60 lies. immediately belowand abuts the bottom surfaceof transversely extending cross arm 40 of frame assembly 28, with theopenings in each being respectively aligned; Basemember.-52-is removablysecured to cross arm 40311 some convenient manner, such as, by bolts64..

being threadedly received through the alignedropenings in lip 62andcross arm .40.. Ceiling structure19 is now in operativeposition atopthe phone booth assembly 10.. v

As previously discussedabove, telephone booth ceiling structuresconventionally mount booth lighting -and/, or ventilating means.v Somebooth ceiling .structures also provide mounting "of automatic.illumination control means:and other morecomplex vapparatus,.such asbooth cooling means and air conditioning apparatus. Ceiling structure 19incorporating a novel air conditioning apt paratus will now bedescribed..An,isolation wall Ellis. mounted onbase assembly 52 andv forms acompartment which separates-the evaporator'or. refrigerator coil 82 fromthe heat discharging. means of-the air. conditioning unit. Isolationwall 86 is preferably made of some insulating material such as a foamplastic. Advantageously base assembly 52 has a fiooror lower wall 64which pro-. vides the ceiling .of the booth enclosure and through whichprojects a portion of a louver through which passes the air to and fromthe enclosure of phone booth 10.. Beneath evaporatoncoils 82 andspacedfrom isolation wallSQis a moulded drip pan -6&which extends upwardlyfrom -base assembly. 52. Drip pan 68; has a de-v pression therein forthe collection of condensate 69 which forms .on-the refrigerated coils82. Connected to a lower portion ofthe. depression in. drip pan 68 is adrain 77 which communicates with condenser coils 72 in aman-p her notshown, for disposing-of the collected condensate by evaporation due tothe-heat of the condenser coil. Centrally. p'ositionedwithrespect toevaporator coil 82 and aligned with louver 66 is a fan assembly 70driven by. motor 71. As shown by arrows in FIG. 3, fan assemsbly70-draws warm air'from the interior of phone booth through louver 66,along the passageway between drip pan68 and isolation wall 80,- overrefrigerated coils 82, and through the fan back through louver 66 intothe interior of phone booth 10. Moisture in the warm air is condensedoutupon the warm" air being cooled by the evaporator coils .82. Thus thereturned cooled air has its moisture content-reduced. Disposed in thearea outside isolation wall 60 is compressor 73, condenser coils 72,an'outletconduit 74, and a condenser blower and motor which arenot'shown, all being mounted on base assembly 52.. Flexibleconduit linesare connected from outlet conduit 74 to an outlet louver 75 on the frontpanel of telephone booth 10. Advantageously, an illuminating sourceindicated as a pair of circular fluorescent bulbs 76, .arealsoprovidedoutside isolation Wall 80. Advantageously lower wa1l'64 may betranslucent to permit transmission of light from light source 76 toenterphone booth10.'-. H 1

i Operationofi the condenser-blower, not shown, draws air from outsidetelephone booth, 10 through inlet louver 78 in: the upper frontportionof telephone booth 10. The inlet airenters the outer area with respectto isolationrwall 80.and, passes over compressor unit 73, illuminatingsource 76,. and condenser coils/72 thereby carrying oif: the .heat,accumulated by the refrigerating system. The heated, moisture: ladenair; leaving condenser-coils 72 is forced through outlet conduit 74 bythe condenser hlowerenotzshowmiand then through the outlet louver 65 tothe exterior of telephone booth 10.

A switch, not shown, is adapted to be closed when telephone booth door14 is closed, and is provided to control the supply of electric currentto the apparatus just described. Further suitable thermostatic controlsare also provided in order to control the minimum temperature ofrefrigerator coils $2.

Suitable electrical connections are made so fan motor '71 andilluminating means 76 are connected to a source of electricity upon door14 being closed, so there is always air circulating and illuminatingmeans operating. Preferably compressor unit '73, for actuating the airconditioning apparatus, is controlled individually by thethermostatically controlled switch, not shown.

The floor or lower wall 64 of inner unit 50 may advantageously behingedly supported by frame 52, such as by a hinge 85, as shown in FIG.3. Floor 64 can be hingedly lowered as indicated by the dotted line inthe position shown as at 64 so as to clean and maintain the lowerportion of the apparatus positioned in ceiling structure 17, such as fan70 and lights 76. Also a covering 94 is advantageously placed over innerunit 50 for dust and dirt control.

In use, to inspect or service the apparatus mounted on ceiling structure19, bolts 64 threaded in the openings in bracket 62 and cross arm 40 areremoved so that base assembly 52 is pivoted downwardly into the boothenclosure about pins 56 and 58, which are supported on brackets 46 and51 respectively as shown in FIGURE 5 by dotted lines. In this position,with the inner assembly 50 pivotly hanging in phone booth 10, a repairman'can easily see the entire apparatus as well as having the apparatusavailable for inspection, cleaning and repair work. For ease in workingon both sides of assembly 50, base assembly 52 is moved horizontallywhile in the downwardly displaced position, so that pins 56 and 58 areslidably moved along brackets 46 and 51 respectively. Upwardly turnedends 48 and 53 of brackets 46 and 51 respectively, retain pins 56 and 58on their respective brackets. After servicing, assembly 50 is returnedto its horizontally disposed position above the booth enclosure in amanner described above, with the end of base assembly 52 opposite thepivoting end, being secured to frame assembly 40.

Electrical connection means providing for telephone lines may be mountedin the upper member 20, extending across the rear portion of booth in,and electrical power for the apparatus contained within the displaceableceiling chamber may be connected thereto by means of a conventionalelectrical plug connection 89 mounted on frame assembly 52, as shown inFIGURE 5. The electrical plug connection should be provided withsufiicient extra cord length to allow for the downward displacement ofceiling structure 19.

While illuminating means such as circular fluorescent bulbs were shownadjacent isolation wall 60, they may conveniently be mounted in thespaces between side member 18 and member 32 and side member 22 andmember 34 for illuminating signs 91 and 92 in booth 10.

While the pivoting means of base assembly 52 was shown as pins or shafts56 and 58 other types can be used such as rotatable members or such aswheels or ball bearing races. Also pins 56 and 58 were shown on the rearcorners of base member 52 and could be on the forward corners ifdesired. Further, while removable frame assembly 23 allows easyconversion of existing booths, brackets 46 and 51 could be fixedlymounted to the walls of booth if desired.

Although the inlet and outlet louvers 75 and 78 respectively have beenshown on the front lintel, one or both may have their openingscommunicating with the roof so that the front lintels of existing boothsneed not be changed when placing a replaceable ceiling structuretherein.

From the foregoing it is seen that a ceiling structure is obtained thatcan be used in both new telephone booths and for modernizing existingbooths with booth cooling apparatus. Further, the present ceilingstructure allows a repair man to replace the entire temperature coolingapparatus unit with another unit by simply removing bolts 64,disconnecting the electrical connection, and removing interior assembly50 from frame assembly 28 and putting in its place a complete newassembly. This can be done if the repair man finds that there is aserious breakdown or malfunctioning of the apparatus, and allows himtotake the apparatus back to the shop where more suitable equipment isavailable, as well as allowing the telephone booth to be put back intoimmediate use. This is an especially important consideration where themore complex apparatus is used. Further, it allows an unskilled workerto perform the routine service functions and to replace anon-functioning unit with a functioning unit and return thenon-functioning unit to the repair shops where skilled repair men andthe proper equipment are.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been describedabove, it will be understood that many variations thereof will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from thespirit thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the foregoing descriptionshall be deemed illustrative only and not to be construed in a limitingsense, the present invention being defined solely by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

l. A telephone booth comprising a rear 'wall and side walls forming abooth enclosure, an apertured mounting means extending horizontally forsubstantially the entire width of said booth enclosure and being spacedfromthe side walls of said booth, said mounting means having pivotingmeans extending from each side and an upright insulated wall formed ofinsulating material forming a compartment about said aperture, an airconditioning apparatus comprising a compressor, a condenser, anevaporator coil, a fan, and condensate collecting means, said airconditioning apparatus being mounted on said mounting means so that saidevaporator coil condensate collecting meansand fan occupy saidcompartment and, in register with said aperture, condensate collectingmeans being made of insulating material and aligned under saidevaporator coil and spaced from said upright wall, support meanssupported by said walls of said booth for removably positioning saidmounting means above said booth enclosure, said support means having a.pair of elongated horizontally extending brackets extending downwardlyinto said enclosure adjacent opposite side walls of said booth forpivotally receiving said pivoting means of said mounting means andproviding for longitudinal displacement of said pivoting means upon saidmounting means being displaced downwardly into said booth enclosure, andmeans for removably securing said support means in horizontal positionso that air from the interior of the booth is cooled, has moistureremoved therefrom and returned into the interior of said booth uponcirculating in a passage formed from said aperture in said mountingmeans between said upright insulated wall and said condensate collectingmeans through said evaporator coil and through the blower, upon removingsaid securing means said mounting means being displaced downwardly intosaid booth enclosure for providing access to said air conditioningequipment thereon.

2. In combination a telephone booth comprising side walls forming abooth enclosure and a ceiling structure removably supported by saidbooth, said ceiling structure forming a chamber above said boothenclosure and including a horizontally extending downwardly displaceablebase assembly forming a lower wall of the chamber, said base assemblyextending for substantially the entire width of the ceiling structureand having pivoting means extending from each side thereof, meansmounted in said base assembly for conducting a flow of air therethrough,

heat discharging means, ;said air conditioning apparatus beingmounted'onsaid base assembly, an insulating partition-"mounted on saidbase assembly in'said ceiling chamber-forming a compartment about saidair flow conducting means, said evaporator being mounted within saidcompartment, means for causing air from within said booth enclosure toflow through said air conducting means over said evaporator and returnto the interior of saidbooth enclosure, support meansremovably extendingsubstantially horizontally along said side walls of the upper portion ofsaid booth for supporting said pivoting means'of saidbase assembly, saidpivoting means being shiftable along said support means to remove saidbase assembly from said booth, means for removably securing said baseassembly in horizontal; position so that upon removingsaid securingmeans-said base assembly is pivotallydisplaced downwardly into saidphone booth enclosure for providing access to the equipment mountedthereon and means for admittinga flow of air from theexterior ofsaidbooth over said heat discharging means; and back to the exterior of saidbooth.

, ,3 to 1, downwardly about said shafts into said booth enclosure forproviding access to said air conditioning equipment thereon, said basemember being shiftable for removal. '4.-A replaceable ceiling structurefor-a telephone booth.

having side walls forming a boothenclosure comprising a base memberhaving pivoting means extending from each side and adjacent one end, aircirculating equipment mounted on said base member, means removably sup-.

ported by the sides of said telephone booth for removably positioningsaid base member above said booth enclosure, said positioning meanshaving an elongated hori zontally disposed bracket adjacent an endof andparallel to each of said side walls of said booth, said pivoting meansof said base member beingpivotally and shiftably mounted on saidbrackets for downward displacement of the other end of said base memberinto said booth enclosure, and means for rernovably securing the otherend of said base member to said positioning means for horizontallypositioning said base member above said booth en- -3. An-airconditioning assembly adapted to be removably mounted on a--telephonebooth'whichincludes side walls forminga booth enclosure, comprisingabase mem-' ber having a shaft extending fromeach side thereof, saidshafts being axially aligned and adjacent to one end of saidrbase; anairconditioning apparatus including a com pressor, -a'c0ndenser, and anevaporator mounted on said base member, apartition wall mounted'on saidbase member surrounding said evaporator, said partition wall beinginsulatedand dividing said air conditioningapparatus into aboothenclosure air section containing said evaporator andan outside airsection containing said condenser, said base member and said airconditioning apparatus forming a-coherent'structure, means forcirculating booth air through said'booth enclosure air section over saidevaporator coil andback to said booth enclosure, means adapted to beremovably supported by said walls of said telephone-booth for removablysuspending said base member above the booth enclosure so that said airconditioning apparatus extends upwardly, said suspending meansincluding-a horizontally disposed bracket adjacent one end of each ofsaid booth sidewalls and extending therealong, said'brackets; havingtheir axis lying in a plane substantiallyv parallel-to said sidemembers, said shafts of said" base member being pivotally and shiftablymounted onsaid brackets, and means for removably securing the otherendof said basemember to said suspending-means for retaining said'basemember in .horizontahposition above said booth enclosure, wherebyremoving said securing means pivots said base member closure, wherebyupon removing said securing means said base member being pivotallydisplaced downwardly into said booth enclosure, said base member upondownward displacement thereof providing access to said air circular- Jing equipment thereon.

disposed flanges, said arms being receivablewithin said enclosure, saidflanges being adapted. to be removably mounted on said side walls ofsaid booth, said support frame having a pair of horizontally disposedbrackets adapted to extend substantially parallel ,and adjacent to saidinner side walls of said booth, basemeans having booth air circulatingequipment mounted thereon and having pivoting means extending fromopposite sides, said pivoting means being adapted to be pivotallysupported by said brackets and for coacting therewith for downwarddisplacement. of the other end of said base means into said boothenclosure, and means for removably securing, the other end of said basemeans to said support frame for horizontally positioning said base meansabove said booth enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS, 2,112,277

